The 30 Best Saturday Night Live Characters

In 1975, 27 people died in Vietnam’s Operation Babylift, NASA launched Viking 1 and on Oct. 11, Saturday Night Live debuted. The show has reached 37 seasons and counting.

With the material America provided in 1975, Saturday Night Live created space for the public to breathe—the sketch comedyprovided not just an iconic party in television history but a way for Americans to come together and exhale one collective, unabashed laugh.

We had 716 episodes and 37 years to pore over, and in honor of America’s favorite variety show, we give you our top 30 SNL characters.

30. Leon Phelps, The Ladies Man – Tim Meadows
Guys don’t get much smoother than the slick-talking, Afroed Leon Phelps, who was better known as The Ladies Man. Played by a hilarious, lisping Tim Meadows, Phelps gave romantic advice as varied as food choices (fish sandwiches for the ladies, of course) to rear-emphasized lovemaking techniques. – Tyler Kane

28. Master Thespian – Jon Lovitz
The Master Thespian returned 13 times between 1985 and 1989. Jon Lovitz played the egomaniacal actor who delivered a consistent Shakespearean accent in his ruthlessly ambitious acting career. His presence consisted of overacting, oblivion to the actor’s craft and a clear misunderstanding for disguises. His “reputation” became a running of joke for what he is not, as opposed to what he is.

27. Jacob Silj- Will Ferrell
Voice Immodulation Syndrome, according to Jacob Silj, affects between 6 or 700 people a year, and that includes the guy who played Raj from What’s Happening!!Will Ferrelldoes what he does best with this character: yells. There’s something about Ferrell and yelling that just seems right. Silj was a character that appeared on Weekend Update several times, but despite his efforts to report the news, his “recognized psycho medical condition” always becomes the topic of discussion. Watch Silj talk about how difficult it is to live with VI in this clip. – Clint Alwahab

26. Father Guido Sarducci – Don Novello
Don Novello made the chain-smoking, tinted-eyeglasses-wearing priest who works as a rock critic and gossip columnist a household name. In 1973 Novello created the character himself after purchasing the entire outfit (for under $8), conjuring Catholic dialects and writing the role for himself, by himself. He has appeared 31 times on SNL making him not only the most seen priest on SNL, but also the most recurring character in the show’s history.

25. Tommy Flanagan – Jon LovitzTommy Flanagan, the pathological liar, always made his way to the Weekend Update desk. Not to be confused with the prolific jazz pianist, this Flanagan would make himself appear important… did you know he invented rock and roll? And was married to Morgan Fairchild? Oh! Or that he, Tommy F., was friends with Mick Jagger? In a memorable SNL moment, Jagger tells Flanagan’s friend that the two actually are longtime friends who spent the weekend together on a fishing trip. As the three exit the stage, Jagger turns to Flanagan and tells him, “I owe you for this one.”

24. Land Shark – Chevy ChaseChevy Chasemade us realize there’s no reason to fear the ocean. It’s door-to-door salesmen we need to consider. If you’re young, female and single, don’t you dare open that knocking door. And if you do, you better make sure you’ve settled all your affairs. Your last image might be a man with an undeniable shark head.

23. Hans and Franz – Dana Carvey, Kevin NealonThese Austrian bodybuilders (played by Kevin Nealon and Dana Carvey) were an obvious spoof on Arnold Schwarzenegger, with their constant chastising of the world’s “girlie men” and promises to “pump you up.” But what truly made the sketch hilarious was how decidedly lo-tech it appeared to be, with Nealon and Carvey wearing very obviously fake padding under simple matching grey sweatsuits; anyone at home with a pillow and a hoodie could achieve a similar effect. Schwarzenegger himself was a fan of the characters, making a cameo in the sketch once and later incorporating the phrase “girlie men” into several of his political speeches. – Bonnie Stiernberg